Drivers in Baltimore and surrounding areas are being warned about con artists posing as vehicle body work specialists who are trying to dupe people out of hundreds of dollars in busy areas.

Officials said the culprits promise to do repair work to scratches and dents in parking lots in about 30 minutes for a few hundred dollars, but they actually cause more damage to the car and take off with the victim's money.

"It didn't sound too good to me," said Brandy Johnson, who claimed that scammers tried to trick her twice in the past month as she walked to her car near O'Donnell Square in Baltimore's Canton section. "He walks up to me. He tells me he can get the rust and the dents out and match the paint for $250."

Johnson didn't fall for it, but managers at the nearby Canton Car Wash said a lot of other people have.

Officials said the scammers just cover up the scratches or dents with a putty-like substance and tell drivers that their cars will be like new after a wash and wax. But it turns out that the substance actually does more damage that can cost thousands of dollars to repair correctly.

"When you try to take it off, it's going to continue to scratch the vehicle. It serves no purpose unless it's done professionally in a body shop," said Canton Car Wash employee Mike McGinnis.

So many customers have come in with damage that the car wash put a warning on its Facebook page, where several people have admitted to falling for the scam.

"Most people are very embarrassed about it. They're mostly describing the same type of guy – very, very pushy who works in pairs of two, or sometimes three," McGinnis said.

Besides O'Donnell Square, victims have reported being approached in the Towson area and in the Canton Safeway parking lot.

"I know about it because they approached my little sister and tried to ask her about it one day. So, they harass a lot of customers. We have a lot of customer complaints in the store," said Safeway employee Kendra Anderson.

The crooks hand out a card with a phone number to seem legit, witnesses said.

"Usually the number is disconnected, or it's just a fake number that will just ring and ring and ring," McGinnis said.

According to employees at the car wash, several of its customers have contacted Baltimore police, who said there are reports of similar incidents nationwide.